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HOCKEY; Devils Credit Robinson for Playoff Resurgence

With their elimination of the Toronto Maple Leafs from the National Hockey League playoffs on Monday night, the Devils continued a remarkable transformation from a mediocre team the last month of the regular season to a serious challenger for the Stanley Cup. After early exits from the playoffs the last three years, the Devils have re-established their identity as a championship contender, as well as renewed their confidence.

Coach Larry Robinson has been greatly responsible for the Devils' reaching the Eastern Conference finals, where they will play the Flyers, starting Sunday afternoon in Philadelphia, whom they were 4-1 against this season. Robinson has been a calming and positive influence on the players since he took over for Robbie Ftorek with eight games left in the regular season and the team in the middle of a slump.

Even though the Devils were headed for another 100-point season, Ftorek was losing the respect of his players, and Lou Lamoriello, the president and general manager, could sense another early exit in the playoffs.

With six Stanley Cups as a player for the Montreal Canadiens, Robinson has instant credibility with his players. He also brings a coaching resume that includes working as an assistant to Jacques Lemaire. The two combined to lead the Devils to the Stanley Cup triumph in 1995 before Robinson left to become head coach in Los Angeles.

Lamoriello dislikes giving credit to individuals and he avoided doing so again yesterday, after the Devils defeated Toronto, 3-0, and won the series, 4-2. He likes to spread the credit out to as many people on his team as possible.

''Larry is a big part,'' Lamoriello said yesterday. ''But so are the assistant coaches and everybody else in the organization.''

In a telephone conversation, Lamoriello said he believed his team was far from reaching its full potential in these playoffs.

''We're getting better every day,'' he said, ''but we haven't reached our best. What we'll have to do is stay disciplined and focused.''

They also have to play defense the way they did against Toronto on Monday, when they limited the Leafs to six shots, an astoundingly low total that symbolized their control of the action. It was the fewest shots allowed in an N.H.L. game, regular season or playoffs, since the league expanded beyond six teams in 1967.

The Devils developed a reputation as a defensive team from the first day Lemaire became their coach in 1993, and the Maple Leafs erred gravely in thinking otherwise. The Maple Leafs clung to the belief that the Devils' defense was suspect and could be beat, and it cost them.

''We underestimated the defensive prowess of this hockey club,'' said Pat Quinn, the Leafs' general manager and coach. ''They're very good defensively. They didn't give us much of an opportunity to create offense and that was pretty much the difference.''

Along with a lack of production by their top line, the Maple Leafs were ridiculously inept on the power play. Against the Devils, they failed on all 20 manpower advantages in the series. On the other side, the Devils scored five power-play goals in 22 opportunities.

Much of the credit for Toronto's futility on the power play goes to the Devils' penalty killers. John Madden, the best penalty killer among the forwards, praised the assistant coach Bob Carpenter for the team's success killing penalties.

The Devils showed in the series with Toronto that they know their stuff and how to put it to work effectively. They have regained their confidence and their bravado, and if they continue playing this way, their season will be extended into June.

''This reminds me of the year we won the cup,'' said Ken Daneyko, who has played in all 118 playoff games in the history of the Devils. ''Our regular season was like mumbo jumbo and we pulled everything together in the playoffs.''